Joanne's Cabin - Part 9

Liz panics. Her gaze darts from Joanne to the turbulent stream below. Her hand flies from her throat to the wall of the bubble. What is happening? They are going to drop into the rocks. Joanne continues to hold her hand tightly. That grip is all that keeps Liz from a full on anxiety attack.

“We will not fall, Liz.”

“How do you know?”

“I do this all the time.”

Liz looks back at the fast flowing rapids.

“Why do you do this?”

“You don’t find it enlightening?”

“Enlightening?! No, I find it terrifying.”

“Terrifying? I am sorry. I did not realize you were afraid of heights.”

“I’m not afraid of heights. I’m afraid of falling. I’ve no problem looking down from the top of Big Wolf. I don’t like being in a bubble looming above a rushing rock filled creek.”

“I do not understand.”

“Bubbles burst, Joanne.”

“Oh. This one will not burst until we are finished with it.”

“Well, that’s good to know but I’d prefer to go down now—please.”

“Of course, my dear friend.”

Joanne closes her eyes and her hair rises like Liz’s had as the bubble formed. Joanne’s eyes flick back open. She lifts both hands to the top of the bubble. They descend very slowly.

“How are you doing that?”

“It is easy. I can teach you.”

“Yes, please,” Liz replies, her fright forgotten.

“Do you still feel the warmth in your belly?”

“I do. It actually feels a little sore like I’m going to be sick.”

Joanne laughs. “Yes, it does feel like that too. Close your eyes and see if you can focus on that heat and bring it up into your chest.”

Liz closes her eyes, directing her attention to the hot stirring in her digestive track.

“Do you feel it?”

“Yes.”

“Put your hand on your body where it is warm.”

“Okay.”

“That heat is the energy of the stream that you swallowed. You need to let it out very slowly.”

“How do I do that?”

“You could try burping.”

“You want me to burp?”

“Yes, that is how you learn to release it. I do it differently now but it is the easiest way to learn how to move the energy out.”

“It’s much lower than my stomach. A burp won’t bring it out.”

“Trust me.”

Liz forces out a small burp and the hot lump stays fixed in place. “See, it isn’t going to work.”

“Feel this,” Joanne says, placing Liz’s hand on her belly. “Do you feel the stirring?”

“Yes.”

Joanne releases a huge burp and the stirring disappears. They drop five feet, then ten, twenty; they are not slowing.

Liz screams and gulps down a huge breath.

They stop.

“There, you have it.”

“Have what?!”

“If you push that heat down we will float up and if you release it we will drop. Okay, Liz, now it is your turn.”

“I am not doing that. We almost crashed onto the rocks!”

“It will not do that with the energy you carry. You are not as strong as me.”

“No? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“Okay, then.”

Liz pushes a small pop of air out and they glide down a couple feet.

“There, you have it.”

She does it again and they slip a few more feet.

“Focus on the amount of air coming up. Put your hand back on your stomach.”

Liz pushes from her belly and the hot stirring moves, rising slightly above her belly button. Her hair rises and the bubble floats down gently like an elevator.

“Good job. Keep going.”

She clenches her stomach muscles and squeezes the air up. Pursing her lips, she blows hard. The bubble jolts to the right, pushed by her sharp breath. Liz’s eyes widen. What did she do? Her head jerks back to Joanne, who doesn’t look surprised at all. She looks angry.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“It is fine, Liz,” Joanne replies sharply, her eyes bright again but when she smiles, it isn’t comforting; it is forced.

Liz really messed up.

“I’m so sorry, Joanne.”

“It is fine. I will bring us down.”

Her eyelids close for only a second and the bubble wafts down as gentle as a falling leaf. They land on a flat rock near the creek and the bubble pops. Joanne steps away, wiping her hands on her shirt.

She is definitely miffed.

Liz asks apprehensively, “Maybe we can try it again sometime?”

“Maybe.”

“I really am sorry.”

“I know, Liz. Do not worry about it.”

“Okay, thanks,” Liz replies, her downcast eyes fixed on her feet. Did she ruin her chance of being invited back?

“You should probably get back to your cousins,” Joanne says in a cheery tone and it sounds almost sincere. She starts up a path that appears where Liz was sure there had been a boulder.

“Yeah, I guess we should,” Liz replies, jogging to catch up. She takes Joanne’s hand. Her fingers are ice cold, not warm and comforting like before. Liz holds on anyways, afraid if she lets go, Joanne may dissolve in front of her like the mists that had lifted them up.

Liz looks ahead and they are already at the cabin. She spins around, searching for the creek, but the path has been erased by a wall of thick spruce trees.

Joanne throws open the door. Liz pulls her back.

“Can I still return sometime?”

“Yes, of course,” Joanne says warmly and seems to have recovered from Liz’s bubble blunder. Her posture is loose and her shoulders relaxed.

“Really?”

Joanne nods. Her eyes flick above Liz’s head for a second. When they return to Liz, Joanne's smile has changed, tighter somehow. Liz looks over her shoulder but sees only the breathing, pulsing forest.

“Perhaps it would be better to not tell your cousins.”

“No? They’d totally think it’s cool.”

“Yes, but Lilah may find out and not let you come back.”

“True.”

“Will you come back soon?” Joanne asks.

“Yes, if you want me to.”

“Oh, yes, please do. I was beginning to worry it was too much for you like it was for your mom.”

“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t really scared,” Liz lies. “I will try to come back tomorrow.”

“I would like that. I have not had a friend forever. I am so glad you finally visited,” Joanne hums joyfully. She takes hold of Liz’s hands and smiles. They are no longer ice cold. Maybe she hadn’t been angry back there. Perhaps what Liz did in the bubble scared her? She will have to be more careful when she visits Joanne’s world.

They step through the door but not into Joanne’s quaint little cabin. Liz turns. She is alone in the mossy glade. She swivels around searching for any evidence of Joanne or her little cabin. There is no flattened moss or even a broken twig where the cabin should be. It's no wonder that most people have never seen the cabin. When Joanne wants it hidden, it can't be found.

Even though the end of their visit left Liz with some uncertainty, she will return tomorrow. She can’t wait to explore Joanne’s strange world again. She will be brave and she will need to be more careful.

fast moving creek